'In the midst of all the madness, I decided to make the cake'

Michelle and Jonny Blair took a DIY wedding to new levels with their big day, where almost everything was handmade.

Michelle (31), from Kent, met Jonny (35), from Belfast, while she was studying at Trinity College Dublin.

They became close and travelled up and down to see each other until Michelle finished her studies and moved to Belfast.

Advertisement

The creative pair said they wanted to make "as many things as they could" themselves for their big day.

"My husband is a graphic designer, so that always helps," Michelle said. "He looked after the invitations, place names and a sign at the entrance.

"In the midst of the madness, I decided I would make a wedding cake," she added.

The endeavour was no picnic either, as Michelle whipped 10 sponges together, and iced them all with the help of her mother a day before the wedding.

Read more:

But that wasn't the only challenge for Michelle, who also made almost 100 macarons for her guests. "I had three flavours of macarons, and there must have been about 30 for each flavour, so it would have worked out at about 90 macarons in total."

Michelle and Jonny tied the knot at Limepark, Co Antrim. "Our friends all knew that we were doing it ourselves, but they were still very surprised at how it turned out," Michelle said.

She also advised soon-to-be brides and grooms to ask for help whenever they need it. "Even my boss said he would keep some of the sponges I had made in the freezer," she recalled. "People are only too happy to help."